4 Steelers Players That Now Likely Have 0 Chance to Make The 53-Man Roster

Pittsburgh Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin is watching closely to see who will make the final 53-man roster. With the first week of preseason in the books, the team will have plenty of film to look through. Unfortunately, some of this game film will all but certainly confirm a few players' departures from the organization. While there is still time, it would have to take exponential growth for these players to be able force their way onto the 53-man roster come September, and they're not exactly the most shocking cuts either. 

1. Kendrick Green

Kendrick Green's struggles have been well-documented since his rookie season. He was handed the starting center job to begin his career, then quickly lost it after the Steelers signed Mason Cole. He was constantly a healthy scratch in 2022, and his Steelers career appears to be dwindling away. He played center for the second-team offense against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where he managed to single-handedly end a drive with a holding penalty, followed immediately by a terrible snap. 1st and 10 quickly turned into 2nd and 36.

Green has been getting reps in a fullback in training camp. While that seems to be his only hope, that hope seems to be gone after Connor Heyward had a nice game Friday night. Even though Heyward played tight end and running back against Tampa Bay, he's expected to be the starting fullback for the Steelers, and Tomlin is known to value versatility a lot. With Heyward's abilities as a utility man, combined with Green not getting a snap at fullback during his bad game at center, Green is likely gone by the end of the month of August.

2. Tanner Morgan

After the Steelers brought Mason Rudolph back, it looked like he would be competing with Tanner Morgan for the final roster spot. Both quarterbacks had plenty of action against the Buccaneers. After the rough drive mentioned before, Rudolph settled in and threw plenty of bullets across the field, highlighted by a 67-yard touchdown to Calvin Austin III that Rudolph threw on a dime. 

On the other end was Morgan, who had a rough time. Morgan botched a snap that almost was a turnover, but reversed on review, then Morgan immediately threw an interception over the middle while on his own 8-yard line. He finished the day 5/8 for 36 yards and an interception. He had a couple of nice plays overall, but he didn't have the confidence or touch on his passes that Rudolph seemingly had. Rudolph looked solid, and Morgan couldn't match it. It's expected from an undrafted free agent, but it's still rough for him. 

3. Jordan Byrd

The Steelers did not have many opportunities for returns in their game, but when they did, it looked bad. Jordan Byrd had all the return attempts for the Steelers, failing to get a single yard on both punt returns and only averaging 18 yards per return on kickoffs, while failing to make it to the 25 on all three attempts. This is another case of an undrafted free agent being unable to prove himself, but that's how the business works.

Byrd's only true hope of making the team is if Anthony McFarland Jr., Gunner Olszewski, and Austin all have terrible return games as well. Even then, Austin is likely going to have a spot on the team as a receiver, and he showed why with his jet sweeps and the aforementioned touchdown catch. The starting return man position is wide open, and Byrd couldn't take advantage at all. 

4. Cody White

Not only is the return position wide open, but so is the last spot on the wide receiver depth chart. Cody White has been with the team for a few years now, whether it's on the active roster or the practice squad. The door was open for White to force his way into the roster, but a couple of drops negated that. It doesn't help that the other receivers in competition have more to offer than White does.

Even though Olszewski was benched from his returner role a season ago, he and Miles Boykin were both regularly on the field for running situations as blockers. Hakeem Butler can also be used as a blocker. While Butler also has drop issues, he has the strength to dominate a defensive player whether he has the ball or not. White's lack of these traits combined with having problems catching the ball will likely keep him off the roster and out of the competition. 

What do you think about the players that have presumably lost their chance to be on the Steelers' active roster at the end of preseason? Let us know down in the comments.

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